Carb cycling is the foundation of what I do every day and with every client. I know through years of experience with many different clients that carb cycling works, so I’m going to introduce you to the basics and the five different carb cycling plans—Easy, Classic, Turbo, and Fit, and Extreme. I’m stripping it down to the basics to get you started:
What is Carb Cycling + How Does it Work?
Carb cycling is an eating plan with alternating high carb and low carb days. It’s that simple. It also has built-in reward days or reward meals (depending on the plan you’re following), so you can still eat your favorite foods on a regular basis. Sounds pretty much perfect, right? You can eat healthy foods, enjoy foods you love, and still lose weight.
While each plan has a different mix of high carb and low carb days, each day works basically the same:
- Eat five meals—no more, no less.
- Eat breakfast within 60 minutes of waking or whenever your feeding window opens if you’re an intermittent faster.
- For breakfast, you’ll eat a portion of protein, carbs, and fat.
- For your next 3 meals (snack, lunch, snack), you’ll eat either a low or high carb meal depending on which day you’re on. So, if you’re on a low carb day, those three meals will be low carb. If you’re on a high carb day, those three meals will be high carb.
- Your last meal of the day will ALWAYS be a low carb meal. Always.
- Choose approved foods.
- Drink ½ your body weight in ounces of water every day. So, if you weigh 150 lbs, you’ll drink 75 ounces a day.
How Does Carb Cycling Work?
Carb cycling is based on the right combination of proteins, carbs, and healthy fats. In order to lose weight, our bodies need the right combination. Here’s why:
- Protein builds and maintains muscles and these muscles burn calories like an inferno. Protein also breaks down more slowly than carbs and fat, which burns even more calories and helps you feel fuller longer.
- Carbs are the preferred fuel source for your muscles and organs, and they come in healthy versions (vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes), and not-so-healthy versions (cakes, cookies, soda, doughnuts, candy, and many processed foods). Healthy carbs are also crucial for burning calories, and since they break down more slowly than those not-so-healthy carbs, they keep your blood sugar and energy levels steady, and they also keep your calorie-burning furnace hot so it burns more calories!
- Healthy fats (unsaturated fats) eaten in moderation help the development and function of your eyes and brain and help prevent heart disease, stroke, depression, and arthritis. Healthy fats also help keep your energy levels steady and keep you from feeling hungry.
Why do we alternate high carb + low carb days in carb cycling?
On high carb days you’re stocking your calorie-burning furnace so that on low carb days your furnace burns fat, and lots of it! This pattern tricks your metabolism into burning a lot of calories, even on those low carb days. It’s an amazing and well-proven process.
What are the Benefits of Carb Cycling?
Carb cycling has many benefits:
- It fits any lifestyle.
- You’ll learn how to shed weight and body fat and how to make smart lifestyle choices for the rest of your life. This puts YOU in control.
- You’ll feel better and have more energy.
- You’ll eat the foods you love.
- You’ll build lean, strong muscles.
- You’ll be empowered physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
I’ve only skimmed the surface of carb cycling, so learn more about our five carb cycling plans to find your ideal cycle, and let’s get cycling!
Get even more information on carb cycling in both or our books: Extreme Transformation (the newest edition to our carb cycline lineup featuring the Extreme Cycle) and Choose More, Lose More for Life (which features our other four cycles).
If you’d like some help creating your own meals, there’s a handy “Create Your Own Meals” chart in this post! To get a customized cycle for you and your goals + several workout programs (from gym-based to bodyweight to dance) + the all-important life lessons (the key to long-term transformation), check out The Transform App.
Note: If you’ve been carb cycling using our book, Choose Lose More, Lose More for Life, you’ll notice that we’ve changed a couple of things since that book was published: You now include a fat for breakfast, and every final meal of the day is a low carb meal. Like with a lot of things in life, the more you do them, the more you learn about how to do them even better!
xo,
1,381 Responses
Dear Heidi,
I have just quit the keto diet because it resulted in a hormonal disbalance and heavy menstrual bleeding (my estrogen has skyrocketed and my progesterone dropped below the normal level). I need to shed a lot of pounds (I am obese with 265 lbs) and start preparing for ivf. Also, I have a carotid disease i.e. clogged carotid arteries. Please, tell me whether carb cycling influences the levels of estrogen and progesterone and whether it is safe for people who have carotid disease. I would be grateful if you can help me chose the right plan (easy or classic, or maybe one of the others), considering my situation. I do not exercise, but I intend to start walking on my treadmill. Thanks for your time! Keep shining! xoxo
Hi Irena: With your health issues, I’d definitely discuss carb cycling with your healthcare team and then follow their recommendations as to if it will work for you and which cycle to follow since each has a different combination of low and high carb days. We wish you all the best! 🙂
Hi Heidi
I’ve been reading all this information on your website and I would really like to start carb cycling. I’m 57 years old I think I weigh about 265 and would like to drop about 70 lb. The only problem I might find with any kind of program is that I’ve had gastric sleeve surgery about 5 years ago so it’s really difficult for me to eat a lot of food I initially lost 80 lb but feel like plateaued and can’t lose anymore I may have even gained a few pounds back I would really like your help in choosing which plan would work best for me.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Hi Diana: The best plan to choose is the one you can do long-term, and with your gastric sleeve, I’d discuss the different carb cycling programs with your healthcare team and have them help you decide which plan to try and if there are any modifications that might be needed. You can do this!
Hello Heidi! This was a VERY informative post and I?m so inspired to learn more and try your app! I have a couple of questions:
(1) is it a bad thing if we drink MORE than 1/2 our body weight in water? Can we do that?
(2) I saw your YouTube video too where you mentioned that we can eat as much cruciferous veggies as we want – I?m assuming this is still true for Turbo mode of carb cycling?
(3) do we have to have 5 meals even if we aren?t that hungry?
Question (1) is the most important to me because I tend to drink a lot of water…especially in the evening.
Thank you so much!
Hi Lia: Let’s get you some answers! 1) It’s not a bad thing, but like with everything else, too much of a good thing can be not so good. Make sure you’re drinking 1/2 your body weight + any lost through working out. 2) Yes, this is true for any of our carb cycles. 3) You can space your meals out as you’d like/what works best for you. 🙂
Hi I was wondering about just counting macros should I do carb cycling over counting macros? Which would be best? Does your plan just have macro counting or just carb cycling just starting this journey out and wonder which is best
Hi Lisa: You can actually do both at the same time! There?s a link to an awesome calculator in this post: https://heidipowell.net/10990. This calculator won?t break down your calories into low and high carb days, but there?s a ?Create a Meal? chart in this post that can help you figure out low and high carb days: https://heidipowell.net/4514. Just remember that each gram of protein and carbs = 4 calories, and each gram of fat = 9 calories. We also offer a customized nutrition program in our app, The Transform App (http://thetransformapp.com), which adjusts as you progress towards your goals. The app has several amazing workout programs too! Hope this helps!
Hi Heidi ,
I joindre the “Transform App” only a few days ago.
I’m 49y.o, 5’2″, weight start 190 lbs , I want to lose 45 lbs.
Which Carb Cycle is better for me ?
As I’m on my first week, can I change Carb Cycle program from “Classic” to one more suitable for me ?
TYVM
Hi Josee: You can change carb cycles at any time, but we do recommend that you give a carb cycle several weeks (4-6) before changing. It can take your body that long to adjust to a new plan. And if you want to change from the Classic Cycle, you might want to try the Extreme Cycle. Again, give it several weeks first. Hope that helps!
Can you eat oatmeal for breakfast? I usually have 1/2 cup oatmeal with hemp seeds. Thanks
Hi Elizabeth! Yes! Oatmeal can be the carb part of your breakfast, and the hemp seeds can be the fat. You just need to add protein for a carb cycling breakfast. 🙂
Question… what does a “reward day” look like? I know it is not meant to be an all out feast but can you give an example. Thanks
Hi Ginny: For your reward day, you’ll eat an extra 750 calories over your high carb day calories. These calories can be made up of foods you crave that might not be on plan (just make sure these foods won’t be triggers for overeating), healthy foods, or a combination of the two. The most important thing is to eat the extra calories, so choose what foods will work best for you. Ideally, you’ll still get in all your protein on your reward day too. Hope this helps!
Hiii, im a fashion model
I would like to have dry muscle but not lose weight. Which is right for me and how can I lose fat on a low-carb day?
Hi Soheil: I’d begin with the Fit Cycle or the Extreme Cycle. Both of those cycles could work. Or, you could also try our app, The Transform App, which offers you a totally customized program that can help you with your specific goal. You can learn more about the app here: http://thetransformapp.com You got this! 🙂
Any tips or tricks for leaning out my thigh muscles that I have built up over the years?
Hi Amelia: If you’re prone to building muscle in one area over others, then train that area a bit less and/or do compound movements instead of movements that isolate that muscle group. Hope that helps! 🙂
Heidi,
Love your info! Is it ok if I share aspects of the program with my clients or is that some kind of copy right infringement or something?
Hi Whitney: As long as you share the source, share away! Lots of fitness professionals follow carb cycling, so no need to worry about copyright infringement. 😉
deposit
Depending in which carb cycle I choose. – does it matter which days I do HIIT workouts? Which days should I avoid where I won?t have peak energy?
Hi Rachel: Great question! It’s actually a personal thing. Some people like their high carb days the day before an intense workout, others like their high carb days the same day as an intense workout. Experiment a bit to see what works best for you. We hope you love carb cycling!
Hello,
I was looking into Carb Cycling and your post from 2012 came up. Is this something you still utilize? The reason I ask is because it seemed to be a core foundation of your program several years ago, but there’s no space on your website dedicated to it – and there are no current articles when I do a search on your website. It has me hesitant to to try it if times have changed and it’s not as beneficial in the long-term or something. I don’t want to assume either, but just noticed all this and would like some insight to help me decide.
Thank you!
Hey!
I?m not meaning to comment directly on Rachel?s post but can?t figure out how to post a comment otherwise. I?m looking into carb cycling as someone who is wanting to Be healthier, become more active, and tone up and lose a a little weight. I?m 5?7? And weigh 145 pounds. I also started training for a half marathon and was wondering which option would Be the best for me.
Hi Krista! Welcome to carb cycling! I’d start with the Extreme Cycle or the Fit Cycle since you’re training for a 1/2 marathon. For whichever one you choose, give it several weeks to make sure it’s a good fit for you before changing. It takes our bodies that long to adjust to a new plan. And good luck on your 1/2 marathon!